Revelation 14:1-4

An Interlude: The Song of the 144,000

14:1 Then ¹  I looked, and here was ²  the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 14:2 I also heard a sound ³  coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now ⁴  the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No ⁵  one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.

14:4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves ⁶  with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,

[14:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:1]  ² tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[14:2]  ³ tn Or “a voice” (cf. Rev 1:15), but since in this context nothing is mentioned as the content of the voice, it is preferable to translate φωνή (fwnh) as “sound” here.

[14:2]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new topic.

[14:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:4]  ⁶ tn The aorist passive verb is rendered as a reflexive (“defiled themselves”) by BDAG 657 s.v. μολύνω 2.